Myriamed, KIST-Europe and Exobiosphere Selected for ESA BSGN Accelerator to Advance Cardiac Tissue Engineering in Space
Luxembourg– February 3, 2026
Myriamed GmbH, KIST-Europe Forschungsgesellschaft mbH, and Exobiosphere have been selected for the European Space Agency Business in Space Growth Network (BSGN) Life Science Industry Accelerator with their joint project ‘myrSpaceCardio’, a pioneering initiative to develop next-generation human cardiac tissue models in microgravity.
The project addresses a major bottleneck in drug development and cardiac disease research. While advanced 3D cardiac tissues offer improved relevance over conventional 2D cultures, their miniaturization into high-throughput formats remains challenging.
MyrSpaceCardio proposes to overcome these constraints by leveraging the unique conditions of low Earth orbit. Using Exobiosphere’s automated Orbital High-Throughput System (OHTS), the consortium will culture three-dimensional engineered heart tissues in microgravity.
“We aim to unlock physiologically relevant models that can significantly improve the predictive power of preclinical drug testing” said myriamed Co-founder, Prof. Dr. Wolfram-Hubertus Zimmermann.
As project lead, myriamed brings over two decades of expertise in 3D tissue engineering and high-content cardiac screening. KIST-Europe contributes deep scientific expertise in human stem-cell-derived organoids, phenotypic characterization, and multi-omics analysis, supporting rigorous validation of space-grown cardiac tissues. Exobiosphere serves as the commercial service provider for biotech space operations, adapting and automating experimental protocols within the OHTS platform to enable autonomous, standardized, high-throughput testing in orbit.
“myrSpaceCardio is a perfect example of how space can directly solve a terrestrial biotech challenge—by enabling scalable, high-quality human tissue models that are simply not achievable on Earth.” said Exobiosphere Co-founder and Director of R&D, Dr Bruno Santos.
The myrSpaceCardio mission will generate in-flight imaging data and post-flight molecular and functional analyses, validating whether microgravity-grown Earth-based controls in structure, metabolism, and contractility. Beyond proof of concept, the project lays out the foundation for future space-enabled drug screening services, orbital biomanufacturing, and applications in personalized and space medicine.
By supporting myrSpaceCardio, the ESA BSGN Life Science Industry Accelerator reinforces its role in fostering commercially viable biotech innovation that bridges Earth based healthcare needs with the growing opportunities of low Earth orbit.
About myriamed GmbH
Myriamed GmbH is a German biotechnology company specializing in advanced human iPSC-derived 3D tissue models for drug discovery and disease research. Its proprietary myrPlatform integrates human cell libraries, engineered tissues, and high-content imaging to deliver predictive, human-relevant screening solutions for pharma and biotech partners.
Learn more: www.myriamed.com
About KIST-Europe Forschungsgesellschaft mbH
KIST-Europe is a non-profit research organization conducting interdisciplinary research in advanced biology, energy and environment, and AI convergence. The institute is a leader in animal-free testing strategies and human 3D tissue models for health and environmental applications.
Learn more: www.kist-europe.de
About Exobiosphere
Exobiosphere is a biotechnology company developing autonomous high-throughput screening platforms for life sciences. Its miniaturized, self-contained systems are designed to enable complex biological experimentation in any setting—from advanced research labs to remote or infrastructure-limited environments. Exobiosphere’s mission is to unlock new frontiers in biomedicine through scalable, automated tools that improve health outcomes on Earth and beyond.
Learn more: www.exobiosphere.com
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